By Ashley McLeod, Staff Writer
Oct 21, 2014, 15:34
PRINCE GEORGE — The estate located near where Ulysses S. Grant arrived after crossing the James River during his march toward Petersburg is up for auction after being on the market for more than a year.
Flowerdew Hundred, located on Flowerdew Hundred Road, will be auctioned on Friday, with a reserve price of $2.5 million. The property is a smaller portion of what was once the Flowerdew Hundred farm.
The 98-acre property was gifted to the governor of Virginia by King James in 1619. The estate survived the Indian Massacre of 1622 and was linked to the Revolutionary and Civil War. The manor was part of what was called Flowerdew town and was the second continuously occupied plantation following Jamestown. With its long-standing presence throughout history, more than 250,000 artifacts have been found on the estate.
The 11,298-square-foot modern residence has nine bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, and two half bathrooms, and includes more than 1,000 feet of frontage on the James River. Aside from the main residence, the property also includes a four-car garage with a guest apartment, pool and pool house, sauna, and boat dock.
The house contains 17th-century features, including limestone fireplace mantels imported from France and brass door handles and hinges.
The property was on the market for some time, and the sellers have lowered the price numerous times but had not secured a buyer, so the property owners turned to an auction company to help produce a sale.
“They did spend some time on the market and the seller didn’t see the fruition that they desired and our company allows the sellers to not only control the terms of sale but expedite the time frame,” said Brad Pruitt, director of business development for Platinum Luxury Auctions, who is handling the sale.
Platinum Luxury Auctions is a firm that specializes in elite properties worth more than $1 million. According to Pruitt, the auction is a method that will help to sell the property quicker.
“We’re able to be a catalyst, so to speak, for the time frame,” said Pruitt.
The auction will start at a lower price of $2.5 million as a reserve, which was decided by the sellers as the lowest price. Pruitt said that offering the property at the lower reserve price will help with the sale.
“By offering the property at a reserve price creates a sense of urgency, and that drives buyers across the world to compete on auction day to be the new owners of the property,” Pruitt said.
The auction listing was advertised worldwide, and Pruitt said there have been more than 60 group showings of the property in the past two weeks, and thousands of inquires online. Interest in the property has come from not only the Richmond area, but all over the country, and even in Europe and Asia.
The sale of the home does not include the furnishings, but following the auction, the winning bidder and the sellers will enter into private negotiation regarding the furnishings in the house.
“Because the way the home is designed, and the sellers just did an amazing job furnishing the home, so the furnishings and the design of the home really mesh together,” Pruitt said.
The sellers will draft what is called a sellers exclusion list, which will list the items they wish to keep, which is a very small percentage of the items inside the house. The list will be given to potential buyers so show which furnishings will stay and be included in the furnishing package following the auction.
The auction will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday, October 24 and is for registered bidders only.
